Last year’s Field Trip was Canadian indie label Arts & Crafts’ 10th anniversary bash, and it featured a reunited Broken Social Scene playing their fan-favourite album, You Forgot It in People. And it achieved brilliance on its first try: the food, the music, the lineups—it was all pretty much perfect. This year, though, American company […]

Last year’s Field Trip was Canadian indie label Arts & Crafts’ 10th anniversary bash, and it featured a reunited Broken Social Scene playing their fan-favourite album, You Forgot It in People. And it achieved brilliance on its first try: the food, the music, the lineups—it was all pretty much perfect. This year, though, American company LiveNation took the helm and spread everything out over two days, which gave more people a chance to buy a ticket, buy food, drinks, and merchandise, and run into old friends they hadn’t talked to in ages.

As it turns out (even at $125 for a two-day pass), Toronto’s frosty exterior melts pretty quickly, provided there’s a hot spot in which to enjoy the sun and one another’s good looks. While there were some shining moments, though, by the end of each day, the good vibes had mellowed out and produced something of a lull.

The musical acts themselves were all on point, from weekend-openers Maylee Todd and The Darcys showcasing their Toronto-bred creative spirits, to closers Broken Social Scene providing their reliable love-fuelled romp, this time light on nostalgia and heavy on guest stars (Gord Downie played on, and forgot the words to, “Texico Bitches,” and Andy Kim joined in for “Sweetest Kill”).

Hosted on two stages at Fort York, the music festival was easy to get to and from—maybe too much so. Many of the early acts played to sparse crowds, and even big draws like Guelph rockers the Constantines proved that this was not Hillside, blasting a stack of tracks off their upbeat album Shine a Light with only a sparse gathering of screaming fans to sing along. American acts were all over the setlist, which drew questions from some, but the intention of the organizers was clear: they wanted people to have a good, relaxed time. The two stages were so staggered at times, though, and the food so delicious and plentiful, that some people stayed put in one stage area, never hearing the sounds of the other.

Day one of Field Trip brought out all of the sun-soaked hippies (how did they all seem to have tans already?) and good vibes abounded as teenagers, parents with toddlers, and a good cross-section of the Indie 88 audience took in the heat and tried to be cool. Day two brought harder-hitting acts like Chvrches and Fucked Up, but also rain, which meant that beach bodies were traded for bodies-in-ponchos, and the venue never got all that busy.

Broken Social Scene seemed awfully un-broken—minus a few favourites like Emily Haines, you could find members of the band and their various offshoots everywhere you looked.

Jason Collett showed up by bike, as usual. Charles Spearin, bassist for Broken Social Scene, brought his backburnered prog-rock project, Do Make Say Think, to the stage, and barely left over the course of the two days—but he did have the time to visit his wife’s booth, which was selling Kevin Drew’s actual tequila lime “Body Butter,” inspired by the eponymous song. Drew’s set was heartfelt and struck all the right chords with the audience, which was clearly there to see him, despite his remark that he was used to having 19 people onstage beside him.

Much to everyone’s delight, the lovely Leslie Feist showed up in a big way, too, backing Kevin Drew and BSS’s sets and fronting a new band, Hydra. Initially a collaboration between her, Ariel Engel of AroarA, and Daniela Gesundheit of Snowblink for Feist’s Polaris 2012 “Metals” performance, Hydra is now seemingly an ongoing project for the three musicians. Though they have yet to announce plans for original music, one can only hope—as all of Feist’s songs, including “The Bad in Each Other,” were amplified by the complex vocal harmonies. Closing with a cover of Led Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Song,” the three-headed Hydra seems poised to parlay its wailing perfection into Canadian supergroup status.

Experimental jazz band BadBadNotGood—like bigger acts Shad and Interpol—played a head-boppin’ set to their dedicated fan base, but that was the problem: with about 20 bands lined up over two days, there were few that were crucial for everyone to see. Even BSS’s set, according to Kevin Drew, was “for the hardcore fans.”

The thing that seemed to be missing was intimacy. Last year’s event felt like a unique celebration of time and life—who could believe Arts and Crafts had been around 10 years? But this time around, Field Trip felt like just another yearly thing, and Kevin Drew was starting to show some greys, and you realized why it is that Gord Downie shaves his head and then wondered about what the traffic will be like getting home. That said, Field Trip 2014 kicked off a season full of the festivals this city has always craved, and everyone loves having somewhere to go—so if the love is spread out over more days and places, that’s fair enough. Toronto could always use more festival love, even if it can take a little time to get it right.

We’re tempted to refer to Thursday’s Massive Party at the Art Gallery of Ontario as an “art party,” but that wouldn’t be strictly accurate. There was certainly a lot of partying going on, and there was some fairly interesting art around, but the two had very little to do with each other. People were there […]

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Maylee Todd moving the crowd at the AGO.

We’re tempted to refer to Thursday’s Massive Party at the Art Gallery of Ontario as an “art party,” but that wouldn’t be strictly accurate.

There was certainly a lot of partying going on, and there was some fairly interesting art around, but the two had very little to do with each other. People were there to party. The art, as good as it was, was mainly window dressing.

In its ninth year, the AGO Massive Party is one of the gallery’s biggest fundraising events. This year, the theme was “gold.” According to local artist Justin Broadbent, who curated the party, the theme came about because he thinks of the AGO as being like a nugget of gold in the city.

“I thought of the AGO as an entity in the city,” he said. “And I thought of it as like this nugget in the city. We have a whole lot of drab, and a whole lot of bustle, and then we’ve got this slow, beautiful nugget in the middle of the city that has all these beautiful pieces. It’s like finding gold.”

He adds that, for the artists who created work for the party, the gold theme provided a lot of room to play around.

“You can talk about religion, you can talk about the Golden Rule, there are so many places you can take it.”

The artists involved took the theme in several interesting directions. Broadbent created a video projection of a man’s gold-grill-covered mouth. The mouth spouted various pick-up lines and other random statements while subtitles ran underneath. Across the room, Mahmood Popal set up a vending machine dispensing fake grills.

“They’re doing a process called warping,” she said. “Warping thread ensures you know how many threads are going on the loom and how long…Every time I warp, I find myself swaying like I’m dancing, so I thought it was time to bring in a dancer to do it justice.”

The highlight of the evening was almost certainly “Hurdles,” a performance piece by Tibi Tibi Neuspiel and Geoffrey Pugen. Neuspiel and Pugen ran several heats of hurdles. After every heat, the winner would have a different obstacle placed in their path, be it a wheelbarrow full of tennis balls, a taxidermied raccoon standing on top of a globe, or a structure made out of Kool-Aid cartons and Pringles tubes.

“The idea was to take a race and tweak it so that there was no real advantage for winning. Because every time you won, a new hurdle was put in your lane,” said Neuspiel. “We were playing with the idea of effort versus reward.

There were also not one but two high-energy sets from local R&B/disco revival songstress Maylee Todd, who came out rocking a gold dress and golden hair extensions. Members of her band wore gold glasses, gold-sprayed facial hair, and gold paint.

“The gold was what appealed to me,” she said. “We really wanted to dress up, and to see what all the other artists were doing…I’ve never had the opportunity to play the AGO before, and who doesn’t like gold?”

Unfortunately, it didn’t seem to matter how good the art at the Massive Party was. It may have been an event in an art gallery, to support an art gallery, but the vast majority of those who attended were there to schmooze, be seen, dress up, and get drunk. The only things that really managed to interrupt the relentless appetizer scarfing and smartphone pic-ing were “Hurdles” and Maylee Todd. (“Hurdles” was so big and kinetic that you couldn’t ignore it if you tried, and Maylee Todd is too much fun live to resist. Though to be honest, the crowd didn’t really warm up to her until her second set.)

It was telling that two of the AGO’s regular exhibits that had been left open for party goers—a photo gallery detailing the exploits of local performance-art crew Life of a Craphead and another gallery featuring work by rock legend Patti Smith—were largely empty. They were also the furthest from the bar.

One party-goer, who wouldn’t give her name, summed the event up.

“It’s like everyone here wants to be seen with art, but none of them actually want to see any art,” she said.

CORRECTION: April 20, 2013, 8:27 PM This post originally misidentified the artist behind the video projection installation as Mahmood Popal, when in fact it was Justin Broadbent. Popal created the vending machine dispensing fake grills.

It was a special show indeed Thursday night at the Lula Lounge, a venue not normally frequented by indie-rock fans. With The Bicycles, Hooded Fang, and The Magic billed together, attendees got to see three of Toronto’s most tuneful pop bands—though each one utilizes those pop hooks markedly differently. The Magic Performance: The Gordon brothers […]

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The Bicycles play to a packed house at Lula Lounge.

It was a special show indeed Thursday night at the Lula Lounge, a venue not normally frequented by indie-rock fans. With The Bicycles, Hooded Fang, and The Magic billed together, attendees got to see three of Toronto’s most tuneful pop bands—though each one utilizes those pop hooks markedly differently.

Performance: The Gordon brothers fronted a seven-piece band for the show, including guest vocalist Jessy Bell Smith. It’s a bit tricky describing The Magic’s sound. The Guardian went with “Yacht Rock,” though judging by the performance we saw, we’d say that doesn’t quite capture the soul and funk this group is mining. In any event, Geordie and Bell Smith enthusiastically crooned to the crowd, which was appropriate to the venue’s decor. Early in the set, Geordie purred to the appreciative crowd, “This is a romantic room, no?”

Best Moment: The audience responded well to the first single from Ragged Gold, “Call Me Up.”

Miscellaneous: The Gordons aren’t resting on their laurels after Ragged Gold. “We’re working on a new album slowly,” confided Geordie, before he and Bell Smith performed an unnamed new tune.

Performance: While Hooded Fang did some quick sound checking, the fuzz emanating from the speakers made it clear the night was changing to something a bit rougher around the edges. As the band has contracted in size and morphed over time, elements of Daniel Lee and April Aliermo’s other musical projects—most notably their surf-punk duo Tonka & Puma—have been incorporated into Hooded Fang’s sound. The songs still have a rock-solid pop underpinning, though.

Best Moment: Dan and April faced each other, heads together, for a good chunk of “Vacationation.”

Miscellaneous: April told a story about how she and Dan wrote the lyrics for a new tune for a forthcoming album Gravez: “We wrote this song together, but in different parts, and then put them together. I wrote about life, and love, and then I asked Dan, ‘What’d you write about?’ ‘Game of Thrones.’ It works well together, though!”

Performance: The time away from each other has really helped the Bicycles grow. The diverse influences on some songs—like slow, country-crooner “Appalachian Mountain Station”; “Bandana Cat,” which evokes the WKRP in Cincinatti theme; and the video-game-inspired “Goldeneye”—demonstrate that all five members brought lots to the table for their new album, Stop Thinking So Much, whose release was the occasion for the show. The fact that every one of them (save for strong-silent-type bassist Randy Lee) sings lead vocals on certain songs demonstrates the group’s depth of talent, too.

Best Moment: The Bicycles are rock stars for some dedicated fans, at least. Several bras were thrown on stage—and perhaps specifically at Andrew Scott, who was singing lead on new tune “Try Too Hard” at the time.

Miscellaneous: The Bicycles took the time to thank plenty of people during their set, including their guests and their long-time manager Maria Bui. They also gave shout-outs to fellow musicians in the crowd. They mentioned The Elwins’ 7-inch release show on Saturday April 6, and praised Maylee Todd’s new album, Escapology. Sure enough, during the next song, the newly tanned and blonde Todd was crowdsurfing.

Just three months in, 2013 has already been an excellent year for Toronto-based indie-pop musician Maylee Todd. The video for “Baby’s Got It,” one of the singles off her sophomore album, was nominated for the inaugural Prism Prize, which celebrates Canadian music videos. And now that album, the breezy and soulful Escapology, has been released […]

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Just three months in, 2013 has already been an excellent year for Toronto-based indie-pop musician Maylee Todd. The video for “Baby’s Got It,” one of the singles off her sophomore album, was nominated for the inaugural Prism Prize, which celebrates Canadian music videos. And now that album, the breezy and soulful Escapology, has been released by Do Right! Music.

Todd comes from an impressive musical pedigree, and has been associated with several of Toronto’s most beloved (and most delightfully weird) pop and indie-rock acts—for instance, The Bicycles, Woodhands, and Henri Fabergé and the Adorables. More recently, she contributed vocals to Bob Wiseman’s conceptual album, Giulietta Masina At The Oscars Crying.

An eclectic performer and songwriter, Todd is drawn to a variety of styles and influences, including jazz instrumentation, soul vocals, and even brassy, energetic bossa nova. And yet it’s her disco influence that stands out on Escapology, though the record never succumbs to mimicry. The song structures are employed cleverly enough that the sound never feels retro.

Todd’s voice is a highlight. She’s capable of producing a smooth, sleek, almost buttery tone for the more lighthearted numbers, or committing to a more gravelling, insistent croon at moments of longing or rebuke.

As well as the previously mentioned “Baby’s Got It,” Escapology also includes the single “Hieroglyphics,” a heavily disco-inspired number with an irresistible sweetness. Another album highlight is the more spirited and cosmic “Do You Know What It Is,” which comes across as the best kind of high-energy, no-nonsense telling off and dressing down of a badly behaved lover. (You can listen to “Do You Know What It Is” by clicking the sample, above.) Escapology is at times giddy and even frivolous, but its powerful, clear voice remains its core strength.

TALK: City-building activist Dave Meslin hosts a discussion on why we should all love democracy, rather than play hot or cold with it, or send it ambiguous Valentines. Flirting With Democracy will examine how to get more people involved in the local democratic process, and make politics fun (or at least, engaging) for everyone. Hart […]

The Weather Station’s Tamara Lindeman will have plenty of partners onstage this evening for the Duets series. Photo by Kari Peddle.

TALK: City-building activist Dave Meslin hosts a discussion on why we should all love democracy, rather than play hot or cold with it, or send it ambiguous Valentines. Flirting With Democracy will examine how to get more people involved in the local democratic process, and make politics fun (or at least, engaging) for everyone. Hart House East Common Room (7 Hart House Circle), 6–8 p.m., FREE (reservation required).

MUSIC: Tamara Lindeman, better known musically as The Weather Station, plays with many of her talented friends this evening. Among her partners at the launch of the You’ve Changed Records’ Duets series: Misha Bower (a fellow bandmate in Bruce Peninsula), Simone Schmidt (of Fiver, and One Hundred Dollars), and Baby Eagle (Steve Lambke, of Constantines fame). The Dakota Tavern (249 Ossington Avenue), 7–9 p.m., $10.

THEATRE: Writer and director Kjartan Hewitt premieres his new comedy, Claire, From the Bus, at one of the city’s newest venues, the Storefront Theatre. The titular Claire (Bryn McAuley, PBS’s Caillou) begins to turn the screws on protagonist Ralph (Ennis Esmer, CTV’s The Listener) when his birthday celebrations get out of hand. The Storefront Theatre (955 Bloor Street West), 8 p.m., $20.

Urban Planner is Torontoist‘s guide to what’s on in Toronto, published every weekday morning, and in a weekend edition Friday afternoons. If you have an event you’d like considered, email all of its details—as well as images, if you’ve got any—to events@torontoist.com.

READING: Author and illustrator Sherwin Tjia has compiled a series of short stories about unscrupulous people doing dastardly things in Serial Vilain. The film-noir inspired anthology is launching tonight, with Tjia reading (and showing) excerpts from the book, and talking about its inspirations. Type Books (883 Queen Street West), 6–8 p.m., FREE. MUSIC AND ART: […]

]]>Serial Villains at Type Books, Truth or Dare at Red Sandcastle Theatre, Long Winter 4 at the Great Hall, and Static Zine's romantic comedy at The Central.

It’s not clear if improvisers Jamie Northan and Lindsay Mullan are cheering a truth or a dare, but that’s what they’re playing onstage. Photo by Kenway Northyork.

READING: Author and illustrator Sherwin Tjia has compiled a series of short stories about unscrupulous people doing dastardly things in Serial Vilain. The film-noir inspired anthology is launching tonight, with Tjia reading (and showing) excerpts from the book, and talking about its inspirations. Type Books (883 Queen Street West), 6–8 p.m., FREE.

MUSIC AND ART: There’s so much going on at the fourth edition of Long Winter, the multi-disciplinary showcase night produced by Toronto hardcore band Fucked Up, that they’ve moved the start time earlier to help cram in all the programming. Film short Marvin, Steph, and Stanley screens at 7:30 p.m., musical acts begin at 8 p.m. Among the bands on the bill are Holy Fuck, Maylee Todd, and The Sadies. Go early, because the building will hit capacity very quickly. The Great Hall (1087 Queen Street West), 7 p.m., PWYC.

COMEDY: Truth or Dare, an improv show created at Calgary’s Loose Moose Theatre, is in town for a short run. Based on the preview we saw earlier this week, it’s a great event for couples and people who find the humour in sex and relationships—because every game of truth or dare ends up going there, right? Fearless performers Lindsay Mullan (Bad Dog Theatre’s Hogtown Empire) and Jamie Northan (Blind Date) challenge each other with increasingly wild suggestions, plus some very funny audience participation. Red Sandcastle Theatre (922 Queen Street East), Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., $15–$20.

PARTY: Local indie culture publication Static Zine is raising funds for its sixth edition with a “Romantic Comedy” bash tonight. Local comics like Carolyn Nesling, Ashley Moffatt, and Nigel Grinstead will perform during the first half of the party. DJ Alex Pulec will play sweet beats for the rest of the night. The Central (603 Markham Street), doors at 9:30 p.m., comedy at 10 p.m., dance party at 11 p.m., $5.

Urban Planner is Torontoist‘s guide to what’s on in Toronto, published every weekday morning, and in a weekend edition Friday afternoons. If you have an event you’d like considered, email all of its details—as well as images, if you’ve got any—to events@torontoist.com.

]]>http://torontoist.com/2013/02/urban-planner-february-8-2013/feed/0Sound Tracks: “Baby’s Got It” by Maylee Toddhttp://torontoist.com/2012/12/sound-tracks-babys-got-it-by-maylee-todd/
http://torontoist.com/2012/12/sound-tracks-babys-got-it-by-maylee-todd/#commentsTue, 04 Dec 2012 16:30:52 +0000http://torontoist.com/?p=219751Believe it or not, music videos still exist. Sound Tracks trolls the internet to find the best and the worst of local artists’ new singles and the good, bad, or otherwise noteworthy visuals that accompany them. Last week, Maylee Todd held a video release party for her new single, “Baby’s Got It,” at a warehouse […]]]>

Believe it or not, music videos still exist. Sound Tracks trolls the internet to find the best and the worst of local artists’ new singles and the good, bad, or otherwise noteworthy visuals that accompany them.

Last week, Maylee Todd held a video release party for her new single, “Baby’s Got It,” at a warehouse in the Trinity Bellwoods area. Partying under the watchful gaze of a giant puppet (the warehouse is used by Clay and Paper Theatre, a puppet troupe) were members of the city’s music scene, of course, but also performers from the comedy circuit, a middle-aged group from the Kapisanan Cultural Centre, and a number of exceptional dancers.

Prior to the screening, Maylee led a ribald group aerobics workout, surrounded and supported by her Sweatshop Hop collective. Clad in spandex and vintage workout gear, they encouraged the enthusiastic crowd to pelvic thrust and booty bump. The workout climaxed with Maylee encouraging over a hundred people to lie on their backs and perform bicycle leg exercises.

That combination of sexy and silly has long been a part of Maylee’s performance persona, exemplified by her “Aerobic in Space” video, and in her NSFW cameo in Phèdre’s “In Decay.” Maylee’s style is on display once more in the video for “Baby’s Got It,” in which she dances, plays, and flirts across Toronto. Packed with short sequences shot over the summer by Reynard Li—and with puppeteers, bodybuilders, and performance artists featured and credited—the video is best encapsulated by a make-out session between Maylee and designer and renaissance woman Juliann Wilding, in her Sweatshop Hop persona: one-eyed Vagina Slim.

The song itself, recorded with a band made up of players from The Big Sound and Loving In The Name Of (a recurring dance party), is boisterous and fun, undoubtedly her most accessible yet. All this adds up to a video that’s done better than a thousand hits an hour in its first twenty-four. Maylee and her many, many collaborators may very well have a viral hit on their hands.

COMEDY: With lots of comedy festivals happening this month, it seems like hilarity season has arrived. The Toronto Improv Festival, now in its 11th year, features homegrown improv stars like 2-Man No-Show alongside acts from the U.S. like Mister Diplomat and Len and Jen. Various locations, times, and prices. See website for details. CABARET: The […]

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Detail of Vigil 8, by Sophie Jodoin.

COMEDY: With lots of comedyfestivals happening this month, it seems like hilarity season has arrived. The Toronto Improv Festival, now in its 11th year, features homegrown improv stars like 2-Man No-Show alongside acts from the U.S. like Mister Diplomat and Len and Jen. Various locations, times, and prices. See website for details.

MUSIC: An unusual number of out-of-town acts are playing in Toronto, for a Monday night: Blitzen Trapper at Lee’s Palace, Alex Bleeker (of Real Estate) and Twerps at the Silver Dollar, 2:54 at the Horseshoe Tavern. But the hottest ticket tonight is an all-ages triple bill of local art rocker Slim Twig, Montreal’s U.S. Girls, and “West Coast garage rock weirdos” Sic Alps. Double Double Land (209 Augusta Avenue), doors at 9 p.m., $10.

Urban Planner is Torontoist‘s guide to what’s on in Toronto, published every weekday morning, and in a weekend edition Friday afternoons. If you have an event you’d like considered, email all of its details—as well as images, if you’ve got any—to events@torontoist.com.

CORRECTION: October 25, 4:46 PM Artist Sophie Jodoin was not involved in the cabaret night listed above, as we originally wrote, she just created the promotional image for it. We regret the error.

BOOKS: Remember back in 2000, when J.K. Rowling did a reading at what was then still known as the SkyDome? Those were the days. Actually, these are the days. This weekend, you’ve got tons of chances to be read to (or have books dissected for you) by your favourite authors, at the International Festival of […]

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This weekend, celebrate music and art in Regent Park. Photo courtesy of Dianne Weinrib.

BOOKS: Remember back in 2000, when J.K. Rowling did a reading at what was then still known as the SkyDome? Those were the days. Actually, these are the days. This weekend, you’ve got tons of chances to be read to (or have books dissected for you) by your favourite authors, at the International Festival of Authors. This massive literature event brings together award-winning writers from around the world for more than a week of readings, workshops, interviews, round table discussions, and more. Check out our preview here. Runs to October 28. Locations, times, and ticket prices vary.

WALKING: If you spend your work week behind a computer, you’re probably in need of some exercise. That’s where the fourth annual WALKfest comes in. This all-ages festival will feature a variety of walking-related events (what, you didn’t know that there was more than one way to walk?). You could join the dog walk, the culinary walk, the dance walk, the art walk, and more. P.S.: You should have “These Boots are Made for Walkin'” stuck in your head right about now. Starting locations vary, Saturday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m., FREE.

THEATRE: You’ve only got a few more weekends to take advantage of outdoor performances, so you might as well check out Space is The Place, a one-time-only celebration in Regent Park. There will be music (a performance by the 15-member Sun Ra Arkestra), dance (choreographer Bill Coleman will be joined by eight performers), puppetry, visual arts, and more. Regent Park (585 Dundas Street East), Saturday, 2 p.m.–5 p.m., FREE.

MUSIC: If you haven’t had a chance yet to check out one of Toronto’s best-known music parties, now’s the time. The 20th edition of Silent Shout invites you to performances by some very special guests: Ark Analog (Woodhands’ Dan Werb’s new band) and Maylee Todd. Following the live show you’ll have a chance to show off your best moves, as the DJs take over the house. 2ninety2 (292 College Street), Saturday, 9 p.m., $7.

COMEDY: Have you been laughing it up at the Big City Improv Festival? If you’ve been missing out, you might consider Illusionoid, an improv, sci-fi comedy podcast that will be recorded live. The show’s cast uses suggestions from the audience to recreate a vintage radio show. Comedy Bar (945 Bloor Street West), Saturday, 10 p.m., $10.

SOUPSTOCK: Lots of people think the proposed Highland Mega-Quarry will have devastating effects on a swath of farmland north of Toronto. Soupstock, not dissimilar to last year’s great Foodstock, invites you to an afternoon of tasty soups where you’ll get to meet and converse with anti-quarry activists. The event also features musical performers and speakers. Proceeds go to the anti-quarry cause. Don’t forget to bring your own bowl and spoon. Woodbine Park, Sunday, 11 a.m.–4 p.m., $10.

ZINES: Hey you. Yes, you. Think you can’t become a writer or that no one will ever hear what you have to say? Zines, friends. Zines are the answer. Don’t miss the Canzine: Festival of Zine Culture and the Independent Arts, which features zines galore, indie comics, and a chance to pitch your book to a panel of judges, workshops, and readings. 918 Bathurst Centre (918 Bathurst Street), Sunday, 1 p.m.–7 p.m., $5.

Urban Planner is Torontoist‘s guide to what’s on in Toronto, published every weekday morning, and in a weekend edition Friday afternoons. If you have an event you’d like considered, email all of its details—as well as images, if you’ve got any—to events@torontoist.com.

MUSIC: Lisa Bozikovic releases her sophomore album, This Is How We Swim, at an early show this evening at the Music Gallery, a venue perfectly suited for songs like her “Fever Dream.” The show will be visually enhanced by projection artist Sean Frey, who made Evening Hymns’ CD release last month especially memorable. The Music […]

THEATRE: Our fall theatre guide highlights shows that are especially promising this season, and this is the first of them to open. Jordan Tannahill’s Feral Child, about a chance encounter between a housekeeper and her boss’s son, is being staged in the rehearsal hall at the Berkeley Theatre. It’s a small venue so tickets will go quickly. Berkeley Street Theatre (26 Berkeley Street), 8 p.m., $17–$22.

MUSIC: With TIFF underway, many music events are tailoring accordingly. To wit:

The artist formerly known as Snoop Dogg is the subject of a a documentary premiering tonight at TIFF, and Snoop Lion himself will be attending the film’s afterparty. (We’ve also heard a rumour he’ll be spinning once he gets there.) The Great Hall (1087 Queen Street West), doors at 10 p.m., FREE with RSVP (rsvp.vice.com/reincarnated)

COMEDY: The National Theatre of the World are hosting their final Carnegie Hall Show at Second City tonight, with guests Maestro Fresh Wes, Nug Nahrgang, and more (55 Mercer Street, 10:30 p.m., $12 adults, $6 students.

Urban Planner is Torontoist‘s guide to what’s on in Toronto, published every weekday morning, and in a weekend edition Friday afternoons. If you have an event you’d like considered, email all of its details—as well as images, if you’ve got any—to events@torontoist.com.

MUSIC: Harbourfront Centre’s Soundclash Festival has evolved from a “battle of the bands” type award into a three-day festival that’s “genre free, and genre-bending.” What that means—aside from all sorts of food, kids activities, and other ancillary events—is performances from the finalists, and from favourite Toronto acts like LAL and Maylee Todd. Harbourfront Centre (235 […]

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The tall ship Playfair slides through the water along Toronto's waterfront. Photo by Amanda Jerome.

MUSIC: Harbourfront Centre’s Soundclash Festival has evolved from a “battle of the bands” type award into a three-day festival that’s “genre free, and genre-bending.” What that means—aside from all sorts of food, kids activities, and other ancillary events—is performances from the finalists, and from favourite Toronto acts like LAL and Maylee Todd. Harbourfront Centre (235 Queens Quay West), Friday 6 p.m.–11 p.m., Saturday & Sunday noon–11 p.m., FREE.

TALL SHIPS: The young sailors of Toronto Brigantine sail with the morning tide tomorrow to Niagara-on-the-Lake, to take part in a War of 1812 reeneactment. But before the vessels depart, there’ll be a “Jetty Jollification” and an open house on Toronto’s waterfront, where the crew members will be showing off their rigging (though the event won’t go late—sailors rise early). HTO Park, 7 p.m., FREE.

POETRY: The preliminary bouts of Slamtario 2012, the first annual edition of a provincial slam poetry competition, take place this evening. Tomorrow will be a day of bouts, leading up to the finals. There’s a $1,000 grand prize at stake, so the performer-poets will probably be fine-tuning their sets right up until it’s time to battle. 918 Bathurst Centre (918 Bathurst Street), Friday doors at 6 p.m., bouts at 7 p.m. & 9 p.m., $10 ($25 festival pass.)

FRINGE: Whether you want to see a musical or a sketch comedy, a stirring drama or a weird performance, the Toronto Fringe Festival has over 150 different shows, with something for just about every taste—and the best way to narrow down which shows to see is by checking out our 2012 Fringe coverage.

Urban Planner is Torontoist‘s guide to what’s on in Toronto, published every weekday morning, and in a weekend edition Friday afternoons. If you have an event you’d like considered, email all of its details—as well as images, if you’ve got any—to events@torontoist.com.

Outdoor music, corn on the cob and sausages on the grill, campfires, and trips to the Island. These are summer staples that will hardly, if ever, get old. But that doesn’t mean they couldn’t use an update every once in a while. With Pride, Canada Day celebrations ramping up, and the general to-do around the […]

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Outdoor music, corn on the cob and sausages on the grill, campfires, and trips to the Island. These are summer staples that will hardly, if ever, get old. But that doesn’t mean they couldn’t use an update every once in a while.

With Pride, Canada Day celebrations ramping up, and the general to-do around the city that comes with a sunny summer weekend, there wasn’t a lack of activities to entice Torontonians to stay in the mainland this past Saturday. Yet the inaugural New Traditions Music and Art Festival was sold out, as hundreds of city slickers snuck away to Gibraltar Point on Toronto Island for the promise of, obviously, music and art. But more importantly, something new.

A collaboration between three local arts organizations—Whippersnapper Gallery, Fedora Upside-Down, and Artscape Gibraltar Point—New Traditions was 12 hours of indie music, installations, dance workshops, performance art, facepainting, a “puppet slam,” fresh food, swimming, fireworks, and bonfires. From noon to midnight, attendees, dressed in sarongs, dresses, shorts, and towels, danced with their dogs and toddlers or sprawled on their blankets. Concerts on the Island aren’t new in themselves, but Virgin Festival this was not. Virgin Festival would hardly be interested in programming a puppet slam.

Not that that specific event would have saved V Fest from splashing into the summer event deadpool, but if there’s one direction that is making Toronto festivals continuously successful, it’s their ability to adapt, evolve, and grow to incorporate a blend of different art forms. Luminato, Fringe, SummerWorks, NXNE—every year they get bigger and better, creating more multi-disciplinary events rather than merely accumulating a list of shows. As impressive as The Wilderness of Manitoba, Olenka and the Autumn Lovers, The Elwins, and Doldrums are (especially against a backdrop of trees and beach), it’s the combination of the music and a good meal, or ducking out of the puppet slam to see fireworks bursting overtop a performance piece by Chandra Melting Tallow, or watching traditional folk dancers perform by firelight on the beach while others swim out to a floating art installation and a lightning storm lights up the sky across the water, that will ultimately stand out.

It was the first music festival for visual artists Zannie Doyon, Benjamin Verdicchio, Nicholas Robins, and Robin Clason who installed a visual art project called Theories of a Geodesic Framework. To Verdicchio and Doyon, who attended the festival, it was an opportunity to take the structure, which was originally made in India, and find their own use for it. That was a theme they noticed throughout the projects, from the dancing, to the music, to the puppet show, to the first ever concert by Maylee Todd and Dan Werb (of Woodhands) together as Ark Analog—taking old traditions or work, and putting a new spin on them.

But not all new traditions go over so smoothly. The lineup for food was unfortunately too long for those with must-see shows to catch, technical difficulties sometimes put a delay in the schedule, and a group of festival-goers with tickets for the late-night ferry got off the island two hours tardy when one of two of its engines broke down, causing it to travel at half the speed. It was a less-than-festive end to the festival.

That is, it would have been if The Lemon Bucket Orkestra hadn’t been on hand to deliver the Balkan tunes and have the frustrated, dirty, and exhausted crowd back on their feet and twirling around in front of a huge, dark red moon. We don’t recommend making a tradition out of that particular scenario, but it was a testament to the art of collaboration.

CORRECTION: July 4, 2012, 10:15 AM This post originally omitted the names of Nicholas Robins and Robin Clason, who are members of the group of visual artists who installed Theories of a Geodesic Framework. We apologize for this oversight.

CORRECTION: July 5, 2012, 1:25 PM Originally, we referred to the art installation as The Dome, when the full title of the piece is actually, Theories of a Geodesic Framework. The corrections have been made above.